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Gov. Brown accused of offering 'false choices' about budget, asked if he supports 'human needs or tax breaks for huge corporations' in letter from Green Party state official

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Gov. Jerry Brown was accused of offering "false choices" to Californians about the state budget by an official of the opposition Green Party of California, who went on to ask the governor if he stands "with us for human needs, or will you instead stand for continuing tax breaks for huge corporations and the very wealthy?"

"The Green Party says no to the false choices offered by yourself, and the Republicans...what do you stand for?" said Michael Rubin in a letter sent to Brown this week. Rubin, an Alameda County resident, is a member of the Green Party of California state coordinating council.

Noting that Brown's current budget proposal contains almost $13 billion in cuts; cuts to UC and CSU, the Community Colleges, health care and K-12 education, Rubin accused the governor of instituting more "regressive taxes" in his proposed ballot measure.

"The income tax and the sales tax proposals are regressive taxes. The Green Party supports a progressive tax structure; that is, the tax structure should reflect people's ability to pay. The proposed special election is an integral part of this proposal...if it makes it to the ballot...we will not be supporting these regressive tax proposals," said Rubin.

"(It) seems that you do not want people to remember that corporate taxes dropped 40 percent in the years from 1985 to 2005; 52 percent of profitable corporations paid no state income tax at all (in 2005). The Legislature has been cutting corporate taxes for years," he added.

"You also are limiting discussion about alternatives. Our choices should not be cuts plus regressive taxes or even deeper cuts. Some alternatives are...institute an oil severance tax, tax the rich more than the middle class (add higher income tax brackets) and redo Prop 13 (restore the split roll, that is, higher taxes for property that is used for business, not for owner-occupied housing)," wrote Rubin.